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Noisy neighbours? Here’s how to help strengthen that relationship

However, there are a number of steps you can take to help ensure the relationship between you and your neighbour can be either strengthened or repaired.

A recent survey from Which? suggested that one in four people have had a problem with nuisance neighbours in the last year. This left them angry, irritated and stressed.

But it doesn’t always necessarily have to be this way.

Good first impressions

If you’re new in the neighbourhood go and say hello to your neighbours.

This simple gesture goes a long way with very little actual effort required.

A little courtesy shown to your neighbours will usually end in a successful understanding of one another.

Everything great in life starts with a simple, ‘hello’.

Be sociable

If you’re having a barbecue, invite the neighbours.

If you’re having a party, invite the neighbours.

If you’re walking down your garden path and see your neighbour, say hello.

If your neighbour is being too loud then talk to them, don’t send a passive aggressive letter through their letterbox.

Keeping a strong and healthy dialogue between you and your neighbour is the key to a successful and stress-free relationship.

Problem solve

If, unfortunately, you do have a noisy neighbour and don’t know how to approach it then read on.

Communication can be an understated human trait at times, but if your neighbour is particularly noisy then simply try talking to them and letting them know that you think they have been particularly noisy recently. Politely ask if they are able to be quieter and gauge where you then stand.

Most of the time a neighbour is unaware that they are even being that noisy, so relaying that back to them is sometimes a quick fix.

Keeping a healthy dialogue open with your neighbour will only benefit you in the long run, instead of feeling a lot worse for not saying anything and letting the problem continue.

Log your data

If the problem persists, then it might be worth keeping a diary and logging every time an incident occurs.

Note down what the noise was, how long it lasted for and whether or not you queried it.

It is a great tip to keep track of everything that happens, so you can quickly relate back to previous incidents.

Complain

It can be a route not all of us want to go down, but if you have exhausted all other avenues and your noisy neighbour persists, then you may have to complain to your local authority. Local authorities have dedicated teams in place to deal with noise control and anti-social behaviour.

Failing that, you can submit a formal complaint to your council.

Again, log all this data in your diary as these processes can sometimes be quite time consuming – so it is recommended to have all this information ready at hand. Every conversation you have with the local authority or what new procedure you have moved on to, log it.

Hopefully, after going down this route the problem should be resolved.

Sometimes noisy neighbours can’t be helped but as long as you do everything you can on your part, i.e be sociable, friendly and kind, then noisy neighbours should only be a nightmare and not a reality.

VMH Edinburgh is one of Edinburgh’s most respected estate agents and property solicitors. Looking to buy or sell an Edinburgh property? Get in touch with us here.